Category Archives: Parenting Resources

Behavioral issues are a topic many parents are well versed in, when it comes to wondering why they can’t get their kids to behave. I know that we have dealt with this, for a long time. Well, Parenting Made Practical has numerous parenting materials, including the book which I was given to review for you.

This is a handy little book! It is titled Why Can’t I Get My Kids to BEHAVE?, and has been a very interesting read! Written by the husband and wife team Joey and Carla Link, this book offers very practical lessons on things such as:

What obedience is

What obedience is not

The parenting toolbox

The toolbox NOT to use

Along with a lot of other information like, it’s not too late (one that I as a parent of older kids found very interesting.

From the very start though, they point out that authority is not a bad word. In today’s social climate, a lot of people seem to disagree with this statement, but I don’t disagree at all. We have had those talks with our own kids about how everyone is under some authority, even if they don’t have a boss at work. They are still under the authority of laws, for example. When parents abdicate their authority in the home, then their children end up ruling, which is not the way God planned for our homes to be.

God expects children to obey their parents. (Ephesians 6:1, Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.)

The authors first focus on obedience, what it is and is not, and what kind of words to use with our kids when referring to them having disobeyed. For example, something I like which we have been doing for a while is that instead of saying “you didn’t obey,” we have been saying “you chose not to obey”. This, according to the authors, shows kids that in fact, they DO have a choice, to obey of not. However, we need to make them aware that choices have consequences, which are ALSO being chosen. If your child knows the consequence, and you are consistent with it, then they know that they are also CHOOSING the consequence!

One of the things I like is the suggestion to stop taking away something for a specific time as a consequence. Instead, it is for an indefinite time, until the child has a true change in attitude. Otherwise, they will simply wait it out, knowing they’ll get the object back, or get ungrounded, etc, without actually having to earn it.

There are a lot of great take away’s in this book, some of which I agree with, some I don’t, some which work with older kids like mine, and some which are great to get started right out when your kids are small.

There are also Biblical references in the book with many of the ideas given, which I like, but the Bible version used is the NIV, while we use only the KJV. It’s alright though, because I can look up the verses in my own Bible while working through this book.

Parenting made Practical has a number of other excellent resources, which I’ve listed below. Check them out!

To read 79 other fair and honest reviews of Why Can’t I Get My Kids to BEHAVE? and the following Parenting Made Practical resources:

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